Episode 216 (7th January 1963)
Plot Florrie joins Martha in gossiping about Christine and Frank but for once Ena isn't interested. Elsie and Christine return exhausted from the January sales. Elsie suggests going out that night but Christine already has a date with Frank. After learning how to make the dish at school, Lucille makes a curry for a reluctant Harry. Florrie refuses to serve Christine a loaf when she calls into the Corner Shop and Val gives her the cold shoulder. Lucille is upset when Harry shows little enthusiasm over the meal. He admits to Concepta that he feels guilty after reporting three conductors at work. Jed gets behind with the rent he owes Minnie because he can't sell stock of Cyprus sherry. Christine tells Elsie about the adverse reaction she's getting and Dot warns her off trying to help her but Elsie is determined. The next morning, Harry tries to get round Lucille by asking her to give Concepta the curry recipe. She happily offers to make him an even stronger one that night. Ken starts at Bessie Street School next week. He refuses to talk to Frank until he finishes with Christine and Florrie is cold with him as well. Swindley gets her to put up a large poster advertising Gamma Garments' clearance sale by offering her a special discount on their goods. Elsie meets Ena on the 64 bus and, ascertaining from her that Frank and Christine ought to be left alone, asks her to come to her house tonight. Annie boasts about a box of chocolates she was sent by Arthur Forsyth-Jones. Doreen tells the residents that the sale isn't going well. Minnie can't afford to drink in the Rovers and brings in a load of empties for the money. Albert has done the accounts and the profit on the play comes to £17.15s. Swindley is delighted. Frank tells Elsie that he and Christine are just two lonely people. She and Ena hatch a plot: keeping Frank informed, they will spread it around that Christine has got another boyfriend, thus giving the two people a bit of breathing space. Cast Regular cast *Annie Walker - Doris Speed *Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie *Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth *Frank Barlow - Frank Pemberton *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson *Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant *Martha Longhurst - Lynne Carol *Concepta Hewitt - Doreen Keogh *Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis *Lucille Hewitt - Jennifer Moss *Valerie Barlow - Anne Reid *Kenneth Barlow - William Roache *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge *Leonard Swindley - Arthur Lowe *Miss Nugent - Eileen Derbyshire *Doreen Lostock - Angela Crow *Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson *Jed Stone - Kenneth Cope *Christine Appleby - Christine Hargreaves (Uncredited) Guest cast *Dorothy Greenhalgh - Joan Francis *Johnny Alexander - Thomas Baptiste Places *Rovers Return Inn - Public *5 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway *7 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway *11 Coronation Street - Back room *Corner Shop *Street and bus Notes *The sequences on the 64 bus and the street on which it stands were OB recorded on location. *From Episode 172 (6th August 1962) to Episode 459 (5th May 1965) the programme featured a standardised cast list for the regular characters. This means that in this episode Sheila Birtles (Eileen Mayers) was credited but did not appear. *The recording of this episode and the next was attended by winners of the TV Times competition to match the residents of the Street to the characters in the fictional play Lady Lawson Loses which was the centrepiece of Episode 212 (24th December 1962). *''TV Times'' synopsis: Harry's responsibilities weigh heavily, and Ena and Elsie form an unholy alliance *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 8,870,000 homes (2nd place). Category:1963 episodes